NATIONAL LEAGUE Pirates rally to beat Reds behind Stairs' homer in ninth

Pittsburgh rebounded from a flurry of roster-gutting trades for the 6-5 win.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- No pennant for the Pirates. They've decided to rally around the white flag instead.
Newcomer Jose Hernandez hit a tying homer in the eighth, and Matt Stairs had a solo shot in the ninth as Pittsburgh rebounded from a flurry of roster-gutting trades by beating the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 on Wednesday.
Hernandez, who came from the Cubs in a deal for Kenny Lofton and Aramis Ramirez, expected an unsettled clubhouse when he arrived.
"Everybody knows about all those trades," Hernandez said. "Guys are thinking about all the trades a little bit. But baseball has got to continue. You can't think about who's going to stay and who's going to go."
Overcome 3-run deficit
Randall Simon also homered as the Pirates overcame an early three-run deficit and the fallout from three painful deals. They traded their top two relievers and two regulars, essentially giving up on the season.
Players joked about the revolving roster, but manager Lloyd McClendon insisted before the game that they wouldn't be downcast once they hit the field.
He was right.
"Seeing is believing," McClendon said. "My guys have a unique knack for putting themselves in the bubble and staying focused. We played a whale of a ballgame today."
The Reds played another miserable game as they fell a season-high 12 games under .500 and a season-worst 111/2 games out of first in the NL Central. They're in fifth place, two games behind the Pirates, but haven't made any deals.
"You don't think about it," said Kent Mercker (0-2), who gave up Stairs' homer. "If it happens, it happens, there's nothing you can do about it."
The remaining Pirates reckoned there's something they can do about their predicament -- make the best of it.
"We don't sit around here and say, 'Man, we've lost four guys and we're done,' " said Stairs, who will get more chances in a reconfigured lineup. "Guys are getting opportunities. Some guys are pumped up about the chance to play every day."
Count Hernandez among them.
Started at third base
He started at third base and struck out in his first two at-bats, pushing his NL-leading total to 123. He then tied it at 5 in the eighth inning by hitting the first pitch from Chris Reitsma for his 11th homer, a drive that barely cleared the top of the wall in center.
"My first two at-bats, I was kind of excited, being with a different team," Hernandez said. "The last at-bat was key. I hope that everything will change from today on and I'll start getting better at the plate."
He'll certainly get more chances than he did with the Cubs.
"It didn't take him long to adjust," McClendon said. "I've followed Jose for quite some time, and I've been very fond of him. I told him, 'You're going to be out there. We're going to get your mojo back. I want you stepping with confidence with this group.' "
Jose Guillen, getting a chance to play every day with Ken Griffey Jr. out for the season, had a pair of run-scoring doubles to lead the Reds, who seem to have run out of ninth-inning dramatics.
Brian Boehringer (5-2) escaped a threat in the eighth, and Mike Lincoln gave up a walk in the ninth before finishing it off for his third save in as many chances.
It came down to Stairs' homer off Mercker, who has given up three solo shots in his last two appearances.
"They should have traded Stairs," Mercker said.